Company blogs

Our friend David Epstein, author of the awesome book The Sports Gene - What Makes The Perfect Athlete, and award winning senior writer at Sports Illustrated, has just had a fantastic publication with National Geographic centered around the athlete Eero Mäntyranta.

This is Liam Hoekstra, who, at 3 years old, is pictured below throwing around 5 Ib dumbbells. In 2009, he was thought to be the world's strongest toddler, but he’s no ordinary child! Liam Hoekstra a young man with Myostatin gene mutations. Read more in this interesting article from Dr. Dan Reardon, the CEO and fouder of Fitnessgenes.

How a DNA art startup spawned an entirely new company selling gene-based health and wellness assessments to bodybuilders
For proof that the path of an entrepreneur is rarely straight, just ask Dr. Samantha Decombel. In three short years, the Oxford-based scientist has gone from working in a lab and lecturing on evolutionary and conservation genetics to launching PlayDNA, a company that turns individuals’ DNA into custom art and home décor. That shift alone would be notable enough for someone trained in a field where academia dominates, but Decombel is hard at work on yet another pivot. This time, body builders are the target. It’s a progression that’s surprising even to Decombel.

Every man and his dog believes they are lactose intolerant, but let’s get to the science! Lactose is a sugar found in milk and dairy produce, and is normally broken down by an enzyme called lactase. Lactase is produced in the lining of the small intestine.

FitnessGenes won £228k of Smart scheme funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency (formerly the Technology Strategy Board). FitnessGenes is an Oxfordshire-based research lab producing DNA-based fitness advice that helps people to get into the best shape of their lives through gene-specific diet and exercise recommendations. Prof Jean-Baptiste Cazier, Director of the new Centre for Computational Biology at the University of Birmingham (UK), will be aiding the team with bioinformatics expertise.

We all want to perform at the peak of our physical ability. Yet for each of us there is a limit to our capacity to perform a particular physical exercise. These limits are set by two main factors: our ENVIRONMENT and our GENETICS.

My name is Jelena, I’m a genetics researcher at Cambridge University, and this summer I’m about to climb Kilimanjaro for the very first time. Now, you wouldn’t think those last two things are related. But as a professional geek, I couldn’t resist researching the health background of the trip before signing up.

In the final gene release of 2015, Dr Ying Zheng gives us an introduction into the endurance related gene VEGFA. Discover what effect each variation of this gene has on training, before heading to the members area to check your own result!

London based Personal Trainer Tom Neal has become the first official FitnessGenes Affiliate, as we launch our partnership program. Read his take on Fitness DNA testing, and why he believes working with FitnessGenes will benefit his clients.

This week's gene release focuses again on responses to aerobic training, and how your AKT1 result can affect your maximum oxygen intake. Sport Scientist Geraldine Campbell introduces this gene, and explains the science behind each variation.

FitnessGenes CEO Dr Dan made his US daytime TV debut this week as he appeared alongside 'America's Medical Dream Team' on The Doctors. Whilst the show airs in early February, you can hear exclusively about his experience here!

Your personal creatine kinase activity level can influence which energy system you utilize during exercise, and even how well you respond to different training types. Dr Pleuni Hooijman introduces the gene that regulates creatine kinase activity, and explains how your CKM variation can help indicate whether you are a endurance or power based athlete.

Personalized medicine is seen as the next big step in health and wellness, and a recent “Stuff You Should Know” podcast on the topic prompted us at FitnessGenes to consider the similarities between personalized medicine and personalized exercise. Read our take on the podcast here.

High Wycombe based personal training service PT-ME have become the latest addition to the FitnessGenes Affiliate Program. Hear how they will be using the FitnessGenes DNA Analysis to improve their service, and how you can join the program too.

Oxfordshire’s premium strength and conditioning facility ‘The Athlete Centre’ have added their name to the FitnessGenes Affiliate Program. The centre, which specialises in CrossFit and Strength training, will be using their client’s results to help them ‘train like a pro’.

Swimming, open water and triathlon coaching specialists Tri Swim Coaching have partnered with FitnessGenes to create personlalised training plans for their athletes. Tri Swim Coaching is run by Annie Oberlin-Harris and partner Ali Hollest.

Tying in with this week’s gene releases, we introduce the variants IGF1 and IGF1_2, which affect the circulating levels of the IGF1 protein. This protein influences muscle growth and strength, but which variations are seen as an athletic advantage?

The second gene in the UCP family to be released by the FitnessGenes science team. Learn all about UCP3 and its traits in this weeks blog. What is the gene's function, and which variation provides an advantage for endurance athletes? Find out before checking your own UCP3 result!

This week’s ‘Gene of the Week’ features the newly released IL6 – a gene for Cytokine Response. The IL6 signalling molecule influences levels of inflammation and recovery rate, but which variation is beneficial for power athletes? Read this week’s blog to discover all the variations of this gene, and their effects on exercise.

Nitric Oxide supplements are widely used in fitness to help blood flow, assist in nutrient delivery and boost athletic performance. But research has shown that your individual NOS3 gene variation can affect how much Nitric Oxide you naturally produce. Discover the differences between the three NOS3 variations and the strategies you can adopt to increase NO production in this week's science blog.

Training at altitude is a key practise for any elite endurance athlete. Research has shown that your HIF1A genotype can affect how well you respond to exercising in levels of limited oxygen. Discover the physiological benefits of altitude training, and which gene variation responds to it best in this science blog.

Meet Harold Tackie, one of the latest additions to the FitnessGenes Affiliate Program. Harold had his DNA tested by some time ago, and he will be working with the FitnessGenes training team, to ensure his clients can benefit from the insight we provide, and help them to achieve their personal best.

Meet Preston Wood – Coach, athlete, performance specialist, founder of unyieldingly.com, and frequent blogger of all things fitness, nutrition and mind. After taking the FitnessGenes DNA Analysis test to benefit his own training, Preston is now working with his clients DNA to help them become genetically upgraded too.

Of all the genes we test for at FitnessGenes, there are a handful of variations that are extremely rare. One of these is the AA variation of AMPD1 – a gene associated with energy production. So what role does AMPD1 play? Are there benefits to being AA? And most importantly, are you part of the 1%?

One of the most thoroughly researched genes to date, ACTN3 encodes for the protein α-actinin-3. This protein has been linked to greater baseline strength, protection against muscle damage and a higher proportion of fast twitch muscle fibres. However, not all variations of the ACTN3 gene can produce functional α-actinin-3. Discover which variations can, and which variations cannot, as well as its effect on athletic performance in this blog post.

Meet Barbara Benko, international cross-country mountain biker, Olympian, and FitnessGenes client. Barbara and her coaching team have been working with her DNA to refine her training, as she looks to climb the international places.

Having worked at global fitness publications for over 15 years, Martin could be forgiven for thinking that he knew it all. However, even with his experience in the fitness industry, his FitnessGenes results provided plenty of lightbulb moments. In this blog, Martin highlights five things his DNA Analysis Test taught him, and how it's helped him optimize his training.

FitnessGenes Scientific Research Dr Pleuni Hooijman completed the Maastricht Ironman last week with a time of 10:10:24, finishing as the fastest amateur female in the process. Hear the details of her race, and her own account of events, here.

Have you ever wondered how FitnessGenes can take one saliva sample, and produce over 40+ gene reports, as well as actionable recommendations? In this blog post, the science team open our laboratory's doors, and reveal your DNA's journey through our thorough testing process. Part I of II.

In part II of decoding the FitnessGenes testing process, Helena Pickford describes all of the factors our science team consider when creating your personalised recommendations. It's much more than just DNA!

Dutch Olympic Rower and Finalist in the Men's Coxless Four in Rio 2016 has taken a FitnessGenes test and says this about the information provided in his Action Blueprint: "When you get confirmation and have the knowledge, you can make better decisions. At the highest level, it’s all about making the right decisions, and knowing where you can find the gains. For me, because I’m smaller than the other guys, I need to work smarter and more efficiently, so the FitnessGenes test tells me exactly where to focus to make better decisions".

FitnessGenes is pleased to announce its North American partnership with leading fitness superstore InboxFitness.
InboxFitness is an incredible website for those of us interested in health and fitness, weight training, healthy eating, and sports nutrition. They have thousands of products from all of the top brands and the best prices.

The rise of fitness apps and wearables has allowed us to easily quantify our performance and progress. But what does the term 'Quantified Self' really mean? Hear how FitnessGenes are combining this data with your DNA results to further personalize your health and fitness.

Each individual decision we make either has a positive or negative impact on how quickly we achieve our goal, or whether we achieve it at all. The mindfulness approach is one way to help you stay on track this month, and prevent you form undoing the good habits you have developed this year.

Here is the full and fascinating transcript of the interview between Dr Dan and Women’s Health & Fitness journalist Katelyn Swallow. Read on to learn which genes affect fat loss, muscle building, and cardiovascular fitness and how understanding your genetics can improve your physique.

You've made a commitment to yourself, your friends, and your family that 2017 is the year you are going to get fit and stay healthy, or lose weight, or build muscle, or get lean, or get an enviable beach body. Saying that is easy. Doing it is slightly more difficult, so here's 6 solid tips to get you off to a strong start.

The FitnessGenes Team have delivered our first Genetic Fat Loss System to the North Pole! Watch our Christmas video to discover who it was to. We also reveal his DNA results, and the recommendations we made to get in shape for next year's delivery.

On the 28th of December the BBC posted a report with the title 'Middle age health crisis' warning. Based on the research the BBC is quoting, FitnessGenes CEO Dr. Dan Reardon feels this is simply scaremongering, and here's why...

Would you like to be healthier, wealthier, and wiser in 2017 and beyond? If so, please read on because we have an excellent summary of the year's best research. It will only take you 5 minutes to read, and there's no complicated science to decipher!

It is far more motivating to know that you are doing the right thing; and that if you continue doing the right thing you, will get results. Find out how fitness technology can give you the physique you crave...

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